Leg-rest for banjos



No. 752,664. PATENTED FEB. 23, 1904. P. H. FOLEY.

LEG REST FOR BANJOS, &0.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 2, 1902.

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No. 752,664. PATENTED FEB. 23, 1904-. P. H. FOLEY.

LEG REST FOR BANJOS, 8w.

APPLIOATION FILED AUG. 2, 1902.

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UNITED STATES Patented February 23, 1904.

PATENT OEEIcE.

LEG-REST FOR BANJOS, 81.0.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 752,664, dated February23 1904,

Applioation filed August 2, 1902. Serial No. 118,150. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, PETER H. FOLEY, a citizen of the United States, anda resident of Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State ofMassachusetts, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Leg-Restsfor Banjos and the Like, of which the following is a full, clear, andexact description, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings,forming a part of this specification, in explaining its nature.

Banjos and similar musical instruments having necks or arms are now heldpartly by the leg or lap and partly by the friction of an arm againstsome part of the instrument. This is not a desirable way of holding theinstrument, because it interferes with the free use of one or both arms.It is desirable that the arms should be entirely free in order that theplaying may not in any way be impeded, and for this purpose. I havedevised a means for supporting the banjo or other musical instrument insuch a manner that the use of the arms in maintaining it in place is notnecessary. This result is reached by attaching to the rim or othersuitable part of the musical instrument a device in the nature of a legwith a foot which is so shaped as to extend from the instrument acrossthe lap to the leg opposite that upon which the instrument usuallyrests.

The invention further comprises means for the attachment of the leg tothe body or rim of the instrument and means for adjusting it withrespect thereto both to and from, horizontally, also vertically, andalso back and forth.

I will now describe the invention in detail in conjunction with thedrawings, forming a part of this specification, where Figure 1represents a banjo provided with the holder and illustrating the mannerof its use. Fig. 2 is an enlarged View in detail, showing the leg orholder and its attaching device and a portion of the banjo-rim. Fig. 3is a view in plan and section of said parts. Fig. 4c represents it whenapplied to a guitarhead. Fig. 5 shows it applied to a mandolinbody.

Referring to the drawings, A represents a banjo-head; a, its rim; (0',its neck.

B is the leg or holder. It preferably comprises a rod b, having at itsupper end the angular extension 6'. It also has the forks 6 sections 6of which are bent to form a concave foot and which sections preferablyare united by the bar Z)".

' The leg or holder is united to the rim by a device O, having twoclamps, one, 0, by which bear against the inner surface of the rim, or

preferably on a bearing-plate 0 between the inner ends of the screws andthe rim. The jaws c c are separated by a space sufficiently wide toreceive rims varying considerably in thickness. By loosening theclamping-screws the device C may be moved back and forth on the rim, andit is by this means that one of the adjustments of the holder or footwith respect to the musical instrument is obtained. The clamp c forengaging the arm 5 has the two jaws 0 0 between which the arm 6 extends,and these jaws are adapted to be closed sufficiently to clamp the arm bythe screw 0 which passes through a hole in the jaw c and screws into thejaw 0 The arm 7) is of sufficient length to permit the leg or holder tobe moved any desired distance horizontally with respect to the part ofthe musical instrument to which it is secured, and the release of thisclamp permits this adjustment to be made and also permits theinclination of the foot to be varied by turning the arm I) in the clamp,and of course the tightening of the clamping-screw will lock the leg andfoot in any adjusted position. By varying the position of the device Oon the rim the inclination of the instrument may be changed or the legadjusted to any desired level of its supporting surface. By moving theleg in and out with respect to the rim another necessary adjustment tothe span of the supporting-legs of the user is secured, and by turningthe leg in the holder the foot is moved in or out upon the leg of theuser, and it is also thereby caused to conform to it.

To apply the device to a guitar, the shape of the clamp for attaching itthereto is modified. (See Fig. 4:, where the clamp is represented asformed in two parts (Z cl, each of which has an ear which receives theclampingscrew 6Z2.) This clamp, it will be seen, instead of grasping therim is adapted to grasp the upper and under surfaces of the body. Theclamp for holding the leg is substantially the same.

In Fig. 5 the leg is represented as attached to a mandolin-neck by aclamp similar in construction to that represented in Fig. 4L.

1t is necessary that the holding-leg be attached to the body of theinstrument below the center of gravity of the instrument when in playingposition in order that the neck may not overbalance the head, and thisattaching position is usually upon some part of the body of theinstrument. It is also necessary that the holding-leg should be soformed and shaped as to permit the instrument to be placed in theposition in which it is usually placed on the legs or in the lap were itnot employed, and that for the purpose of securing this location of theinstrument it is necessary that the holding-leg should also have theadjustment with relation to the body of the instrument which I havespecified. It is also necessary that the holding-leg be so shaped andattached as to prevent the instrument from tipping forward and to holdit, so that it will substantially stand alone upon the lap or legs orwith such little additional support as comes from resting lightlyagainst the body of the player. By thus holding the instrument it nolonger becomes necessary to use any part of the arms in sustaining it inplace, and this permits them to be much more freely moved in the playingof the instrument than before has been possible.

Having'thus fully described my invention, I claim and desire to secureby Letters Patent of the United States 1. A banjo or similar instrumenthaving a leg rest or support, the same comprising a leg secured to therim or body of the banjo and extending outwardly and downwardlytherefrom to rest upon the leg of the user when the banjo is in operableposition, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

2. A banjo or similar instrument having a leg rest or support, the samecomprising a leg secured to the rim or body of the banjo, the said legextending outwardly and downwardly from said banjo when in operableposition and provided with a foot adapted to restupon the leg of theuser, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

3. A banjo or similar instrument having a leg-rest for supporting thebanjo or instrument when in operable position, the same comprising amember extending outwardly and downwardly from the rim to rest upon theleg of the user when the banjo is in operable position, and means fordetachabl y and adjustably securing said leg-rest to the rim or body ofthe banjo, substantially as described.

4. A banjo or similar instrument having a leg rest or support, the samecomprising a leg secured to the rim or body of the banjo and extendingoutwardly and downwardly therefrom to rest upon the leg of the user whenthe banjo is in operable position, and means for adjusting the saidleg-rest to and from the rim or body of the banjo.

5. A banjo or similar instrument having a leg rest or support, the samecomprising a leg secured to the rim or body of the banjo and extendingoutwardly and downwardly therefrom to rest upon the leg of the user whenthe banjo is in operable position, and means for adjusting theinclination of said leg-rest with respect to the rim or body of thebanjo.

6. A banjo or similar instrument having a leg-rest for supporting thebanjo or instrument when in operable position, the same comprising a legand attached foot, the leg extending outwardly and downwardly from saidbanjo when in said operable position, and the foot adapted to rest uponthe leg of the user when the banjo is in said operable position, andmeans for adjusting the said foot to and from the body or rim of saidinstrument and for changing its inclination relatively thereto,substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

PETER H. FOLEY.

Witnesses:

J. E. R. HAYES, F. F. RAYMOND, 2d.

